The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1887-05-11

more so than broadway.
1t is street of theatres, great beer gardens.
hotels, lodging-houses and museums. The
east side of New York, Of which the Bowery
is the gateway, could not begin to support
it. All of New York city could not sup
port it.
New Workers never lose their interest in
this queer section of the city. Men and
women, boys and girls, of every class, make
periodical visits there. particularly in the
evenings, but not to spend money and sell
dom TO enter any Of the houses. The hustle
and din of railroads overhead and ON the
ground, andthe sweeping torrents of human
ity upon the sidewalks, are sources of never
ending interest, even to our citizens. Even
a police captain, John Mccullough, of the fa-
nous Sixth precinct, told me the other day
that he liked to stand in front of the Atlantic
Garden and watch the throng.
ut would pay you,3' he said, ITO stand
from ten O'Clock ut night until two in the
morning, if you have the patience, just to see
people. Now you see a man you know
& to be worth 100000 walking apparently
laimlessly along; he is followed by notori-
Gus burglar, and he by a well-known clergy
man. Tramps and crooks and courtesans
and undoubted ladies Of more than comfort
able circumstances elbow one another in a
sudden thickening of the crowd. There is
nothing like that crowd anywhere else in
the city"
Suppose, instead of standing still, that the
reader takes rapid walk with me along this
highway of Bedlam. A noisy band causes
you to turn your head and you see museum
literally hidden behind great canvas paint
ings of serpents, fat women, monstrosities
and jugglers. Behind these paintings the
band is concealed, and under them is the
doorway in which man with the loudcst
voice you ever heard is bidding the crowd to
walk right in; only dime" Don't do it
unless you nave city man with you, for
this is e trap for the unwary. The main
profits of that establishment are gotten by
fleeing strangers and the manner in
which the swindling is done is SO auda-
cious that no one could guard against it ex-
cept by having nothing whatever to do with
the place. For instance, you are asked to
allow phrenologist to feel your head or you
are invited to step into a little box and have
your fortune told. When you enter you arc
led to believe that the operation is to cost
nothing, but just as you are about TO come
away a little board in one of the walls is
skillfully turned and sign is displayed an
nouncing: "Fee for examination, 81. ," The
rascals cannot force you TO pay this, but
they tell their victims they will club thea or
thrash them if they don't pay, and nine
greenhorns in ten pay gladly to get out into
the welcome air of the street again. You
will see other museums as you stroll upthe
street; something like half dozen of them.
Unless you are a New Yorker you cannot
tell which are honest and which are traps.
Their signs are very ingenious and interest
ing just now. One is holding beauty show.
In another the famous ssWhat-is-it?'' so long
with Barnums, is employed to give boxing
match every hour with another freak OF
African nature called sthe Madagascar can
nibain Further along the street is what is
called 1.-THE Human Lamp" another darby
who holds a lamp-burner in his mouth and
is supposed to drink several quarts of oil q
day to keep the fame burning. In agenuine,
honest Bowery museum you will see some
interesting curiosities and short stage per-
formance every hour, the price of admission
being only ten cents. As q rule, intelligent
citizens do not go to any of these places be-
cause the curiosities are usually clumsy in
ventions. and not even for the small admis
sion fee does one get fair return for the in
yestment.
Aswe walk along we come to the Thalia
Theatre and the Atlantic Garden. The one
was famous all over the world for half q
century as the Bowery Theatre; the other
is now as well-known by name in berlin as
in Chicago OF San Francisco. The ancient